Eating, Naturally.

Of all things, I want to raise a happy child who becomes a happy adult. Sounds simple. Of course, it isn’t.

Nobody knows what really creates happiness. All we know is that it’s a complex interaction between various things.

And the recipe is different for everyone.

I can tell you what doesn’t bring you closer to it. Easy sailing.

In the good old days, you’d have to forage for every bit of food, and work for every tool you had. It must have been some satisfaction to have killed an antelope or carved an arrowhead out of rock. True appreciation. These days we have so much and enjoy so little.

I know where conventional meat comes from for instance, so I don’t eat it. Many consumers are unaware or have suppressed their natural horrors at what we as a society do to animals. I don’t take meat for granted.

I did realize over the weekend at a workshop at Jivala Culinary Institute however, that I disrespect the other foods in my plant based diet. We probably all do.

How many times have I polished off nearly an entire pineapple half in one sitting? That pineapple took 2-3 years to grow. And I ate it over two snacks exchanging emails in front of my laptop. Not only is that hard on the digestive system, but it’s hardly necessary. Your body can only use so many micronutrients at one time. And as for enjoyment, well, the poor pineapple died for a full tummy.

I was also introduced to the philosophy that nature provides best in the ideal amounts. Leafy greens would be most easy to grow and come by (which can be confirmed by anyone who has ever planted them in a garden), therefore should have a central role in the diet. Fruits, grains, legumes and meat would be far more difficult and energy depleting to obtain… therefore would be eaten less frequently. Someone living off the land would be more likely to plant seeds than eat them, so they share a similar spot on the natural plate. It’s then really easy to see that although most natural foods are healthy, eating them in the portions that we are intended to process them in is easily as important.